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    Weekly Raw Steel Production: 2+ Year Low

    Written by Brett Linton


    For the week ending February 21, 2015, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,716,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, a 2.5 percent decrease over the previous week and a 5.9 percent decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 72.6 percent, down from 74.4 percent last week and down from 75.8 percent last year.

    Raw steel production is the lowest level seen since the week ending November 1, 2012 when production was 1,707,000 tons and the capacity utilization rate was 69.7 percent. The latest capacity utilization rate is the lowest seen since the week ending December 27, 2014 when it was 72.6 percent and production was at 1,746,000 tons.

    Brett Linton

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    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

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    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.